APTN Investigative Report: Racism in the Ranks

APTN Investigative Report: Racism in the Ranks

On Friday, April 27, 2018, the APTN National News’ released its investigative report: ‘APTN Investigates: Racism in the Ranks’. This report covers the prevalent issue of racism, misconduct, and lack of accountability in the RCMP.

In February of 2018, APTN broke news of racist social media comments by an RCMP officer who posted that Colten Boushie, the 22-year-old Cree man shot and killed by Gerald Stanley, “got what he deserved.” In this report, the APTN reveals, that it has discovered dozens of racist comments about Indigenous people in a different, secret Facebook group for RCMP members only.

Julian Falconer was interviewed as part of this investigative report. Among his comments, Julian said, “There is almost an acceptance about the existence of racism.” Systemic racism within the justice system for Indigenous people is painted in a picture of higher incarceration rates, missing and murdered Indigenous women, and the criminalization of land protectors, he said. And Falconer calls the Boushie story “Canada’s Rodney King moment. “The Stanley acquittal in the Boushie death is a reflection of a much larger fissure with society,” said Falconer. “And part of that trauma for Indigenous people arising from the Boushie case is the truth that the police.”

To listen to Julian Falconer’s full commentary on this matter, click here.

Julian’s comments drew on his extensive experience addressing racism and other forms of misconduct within policing in Canada. This includes:

The Ipperwash Inquiry into the police shooting of unarmed, Ojibwe activist Dudley George.

The Mahar Arar case, looking into the role played by the RCMP in falsely labelling Arar a Muslim extremist which led to his detainment and torture in Syria for almost a year.

The matter of Sammy Yatim. Falconers represents Sammy’s mother, Sahar Bahadi, in her civil lawsuit against the Toronto Police and Constable Forcillo. On January 25, 2016 Constable Forcillo was found guilty, by a jury, of attempted murder in the shooting of Yatim, after shooting the 18-year-old Yatim 9 times and killing him, in July of 2013 on a Toronto streetcar.

And for the last eight years, Falconer has represented the Nishnawbe Aski Nation in their fight against police racism in Thunder Bay.